Aiwa
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese consumer electronics
company, founded in 1951.
It produced audio and video equipment from the 1970s until the early 2000s.
Sony's reasoning for acquiring the company is unclear, other than that it was already a shareholder in Aiwa Corporation. However, Aiwa was eligible for a tax refund in Japan for FY2002, which offset the dropping figures in Sony's financial report for FY 2002/2003. In January 2003 Sony announced the rebranding
and relaunch of Aiwa as a "youth focused, PC-centric" electronics brand. A new logo was presented to the world's media along with a statement of Sony's intention to invest in and "revitalize" the Aiwa brand.
The direction proposed was to capitalize on the growing trend among PC-literate teenagers and young adults to use their PCs for all forms of entertainment (TV, films, music, chat), an area in which Sony itself was struggling primarily due to the heavy copyright protections it imposed upon its products.
Since 2004, however, Sony seemingly began rolling back its support for the Aiwa brand, and by 2005 Aiwa products remained on sale in only selected territories around the globe. In 2006, Aiwa products were discontinued and no longer sold in the market.
As of September 2011, the Aiwa website still exists to provide customer support telephone numbers for some territories/regions, but it also contains many broken links and blank pages. In other regions, such as Europe, it redirects to a page on the Sony website stating that the Aiwa website has closed down. The last apparent update to the website was in June 2008.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese consumer electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
company, founded in 1951.
It produced audio and video equipment from the 1970s until the early 2000s.
History
The Aiwa Corporation slid towards bankruptcy until it was purchased by competitor Sony Corporation. As of October 1, 2002, Aiwa ceased to be a separate company and became a wholly owned division of Sony Corporation. The company retained a logo from the mid 1990s which was used for a very short time.Sony's reasoning for acquiring the company is unclear, other than that it was already a shareholder in Aiwa Corporation. However, Aiwa was eligible for a tax refund in Japan for FY2002, which offset the dropping figures in Sony's financial report for FY 2002/2003. In January 2003 Sony announced the rebranding
Rebranding
Rebranding is the creation of a new name, term, symbol, design, or a combination of them for an established brand with the intention of developing a differentiated position in the mind of stakeholders and competitors....
and relaunch of Aiwa as a "youth focused, PC-centric" electronics brand. A new logo was presented to the world's media along with a statement of Sony's intention to invest in and "revitalize" the Aiwa brand.
The direction proposed was to capitalize on the growing trend among PC-literate teenagers and young adults to use their PCs for all forms of entertainment (TV, films, music, chat), an area in which Sony itself was struggling primarily due to the heavy copyright protections it imposed upon its products.
Since 2004, however, Sony seemingly began rolling back its support for the Aiwa brand, and by 2005 Aiwa products remained on sale in only selected territories around the globe. In 2006, Aiwa products were discontinued and no longer sold in the market.
As of September 2011, the Aiwa website still exists to provide customer support telephone numbers for some territories/regions, but it also contains many broken links and blank pages. In other regions, such as Europe, it redirects to a page on the Sony website stating that the Aiwa website has closed down. The last apparent update to the website was in June 2008.
External links
- Global Website of Aiwa
- U.S. Website of Aiwa
- Vintage Cassette Decks Collection of Aiwa Vintage Cassette decks and other brands.